Tag Archives: Trust

What Really Matters

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Today in Phillippians 3: 4-11, we see Paul talk about what really matters:

4even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh.  If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Cross_in_sunsetPaul in this part of Phillippians is talking about how he (and we) have to trust more in the grace of Jesus than we should in our own works.  He is talking to a group of Christians that are tempted to rely more upon their works and the law than they are on Jesus.

So, Paul lists off all the stuff that he has done.  Stuff, that if you could earn your salvation by what you have done, would surely earn him a place in eternity.  Look at what he has done.  He was as righteous in the law.  He had done all the “right” things.  Paul was about as holy as one could be by the law.

And look at what he says – he considers that all rubbish when compared to knowing Jesus.  He has found in Jesus a righteousness that he could have never found through the law.  He discovered a salvation that doesn’t come from one’s works but comes only through the gift of God’s grace.

He wants to know Jesus.  To know His life.  His death.  And His resurrection.

Paul found this.  He found what really matters wasn’t what he had done.  What really mattered was what Jesus had done.  When compared to the goodness of God, the grace of God, the power of God, the life of God, the stuff of earth just can’t compare.

Paul learned grace.  And here’s what’s cool about grace, especially in the world we live in.  In this world of pressure and work and stress and results and performance reviews.  Grace is not about you.  It’s about Him.  And we can rest in grace.

Rest.  In grace.

Rest.  In Jesus.

Rest.  In His power.

You are loved.  Not because of anything you’ve ever done.  But because of all that He has done.  Paul considered everything rubbish compared to knowing Jesus.  He wasn’t saying that was bad.  He was saying that Jesus was better.

Paul found what really matters.

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Our Last Day with Mark: Mark 16:9-20

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Today we are finishing up our time with Mark.  You can go through and read all our reflections on Mark here on my blog, you can group them under the category Mark below and catch up.  Friday we’ll do a reading from our Daily Readings, and I’ll be thinking about what is next.

The Longer Ending of Mark

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
9 [[Now after he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went out and told those who had been with him, while they were mourning and weeping. 11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.

Jesus Appears to Two Disciples
12 After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

Jesus Commissions the Disciples
14 Later he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were sitting at the table; and he upbraided them for their lack of faith and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. 15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. 16 The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

The Ascension of Jesus
19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.]]

the-gospel-of-mark1We talked Monday about why Chapter 16 is made it like it is, with the notations of the different manuscripts.  Today, we see these last few verses in Mark are in four different sections, and only one of them really makes us go, huh?

The first section – 9-10, Jesus appears to Mary, just as it happens in other Gospels. The first person to see Jesus after the resurrection was Mary. She was dedicated to Him, she loved Him, and she came to help prepare His body for final burial.  And she was the first one to proclaim the resurrection.  She was the first of many throughout the ages to tell others that Jesus is alive.  She was the first to share that Good News.  But notice, they didn’t believe her.

Second, 12-13, what sounds very similar to the walk to Emmaus in Luke.  In Luke’s Gospel we see a fuller picture of what happened here, two followers were walking to the village of Emmaus when Jesus appeared to them, explained how all the scriptures point to Him, to His death, and resurrection, but they didn’t recognize Him.  It wasn’t until they arrived at the village, and they broke bread together that they realized it was Jesus.  So, they go and tell others, but notice, just like in the section before, they didn’t believe them.

Third, 14-18, Jesus appears to the Disciples.  Ok, here there are some things that make us go, wait, what?  We see a similar end to what we see in Matthew, with Jesus sending them out with the great commission. But we see something unique to Mark.  We see that they will have signs of great power, they will be able to drink poison, handle snakes, speak in tongues, other such things.  What are we to do this?

First, it is in the Bible.  One of my professors in seminary always told us that we can’t just ignore passages of scripture that confuse us or that we don’t like.  They are in the Bible.  This ending of Mark is what is found most common in the manuscripts that the Bible comes from (I unpack a lot this Monday), but know, it is the Bible.  So, I believe that those that follow Jesus, we can face amazing things, things that would kill others, and survive.  I believe we have power that the world does not possess.  Now notice, it didn’t say that we should necessarily go looking for trouble or for these things. But if they come, we will have more power than we think is even possible.

So, I’m not going to go out handling snakes. But, I do believe in miracles.  And I do believe that as Christians, we are filled with the Holy Spirit, and we may not understand all that God does through us, He can and does do amazing things through us.  We are filled with the very Spirit that raised Christ from the dead.  Trust.  Hope.  Beleive.

Don’t be like those initial disciples.  Have faith.

Fouth, 19-20, the ascension.  We see Jesus ascend to heaven, where He sits at God’s right hand, praying for us, encouraging us, interceding for us.  Remember, you always have someone on your side, someone pulling for you, someone that loves you, someone that cares for you, someone there for you.  Jesus.  He is at the right hand of the Father.  On your team.  Never forget that.

What questions do you have?  How does this strike you?  Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

If you’d like to receive these thoughts by email, be sure to click here and join my email devotional group!

Day Sixty-Two with Mark: Mark 16:1-8

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Yesterday we looked at the reason behind the way the way that the Gospel of Mark ends.  Today we look at Mark 16:1-8:

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6 But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

The Shorter Ending of Mark

[[And all that had been commanded them they told briefly to those around Peter. And afterward Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.]]

450165977_e5ed7a3617One of the things that we see when the women encounter the resurrection is fear.  They are afraid. We see it illustrated in other Gospels, they think the body has been stolen or something awful has happened.

Jesus had told them that He would be raised, by they really didn’t get it. They really didn’t understand it.  They (may) have known intellectually, but they really didn’t get it emotionally.  They struggled to understand it.

For the Jewish mind, death was THE result of the fall.  It is what happened because of the fall.  The entire Levitical purity system was in many ways about removing the curse of death.  If you touched anything dead, you were unclean.  Think about the parable of the Good Samaritan.  The reason the priest and Levite passed by is because the man looked death.  The law would not have allowed them to touch him; they would not have been able to do their religious duties.

The high priest must have been born on a house or place that was made of bedrock.  Bedrock is pure rock, there is no dirt or soil beneath it, meaning that there was no way there could have been any bones beneath it, meaning that there was no way they could have been born on top of impurity.

(By the way, thinking along those lines, think about where Jesus was born.  Most likely in a cave.  Pure bedrock.)

This is why they really couldn’t grasp it.  You didn’t overcome death.  Death was the result of this life.  Death is the curse.  Death is the result of the fall, death is the result of sin. We all die. All of us.  Death wins.

Until this moment.  Death has been overcome.  Death has been defeated.  Death has been destroyed.  Sin, death, and the grave are no more. They are vanquished. They are gone.  They are no more.

Jesus defeated death.  Forever.

We sort of get that and understand it.  Sort of. Even we struggle to understand that. Even we are afraid of death like they are.  But we know that Jesus has overcome.

The didn’t really get it until they saw Him and understood.

Today, sin, death, and the grave are defeated.  They hold no power over you. They are no more.  Do not be afraid. Do not worry. Do not fear.  They are forever gone and destroyed.

Jesus has defeated them.

Do not fear.

Tomorrow we’ll finish up Mark by looking at Mark 16:9-20.

What questions do you have?  How does this strike you?  Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

If you’d like to receive these thoughts by email, be sure to click here and join my email devotional group!

Day Fifty-Five with Mark: Mark 14:53-64

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I’m back from the Holy Land and our devotionals will return on their normal schedule.  I hope you all had a Happy New Year as well.  One question for you, we are close to finishing Mark, what would you like to do next?  I am either going to return to the format that I have done for years, reflecting upon a passage from the Morning Office (or some other daily lectionary) or I may do another book of the Bible.  Any feedback?  Let me know what you think!

Today we are going to look at Mark 14:53-64:

53 They took Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes were assembled. 54 Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the guards, warming himself at the fire. 55 Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none. 56 For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree. 57 Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, saying, 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’” 59 But even on this point their testimony did not agree. 60 Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?” 61 But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 Jesus said, “I am; and
‘you will see the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of the Power,’
and ‘coming with the clouds of heaven.’”
63 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses? 64 You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?” All of them condemned him as deserving death. 65 Some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” The guards also took him over and beat him.

Giotto_-_Scrovegni_-_-32-_-_Christ_before_CaiaphasOne of the things that you always take away from going to the Holy Land is the reality of all that Jesus went through for our sake.  You see the places where He was abused, where He was mocked, where He was spit upon.

You see places, just like what is described here, where these things happened.

We like to skip ahead the good part.  The resurrection, the victory, all that is to come. But, in doing that, we cause the “good part” to lose part of its power.  When you see all that Jesus went through, the power of the empty grave is even more amazing!  He overcame ALL of this!  Don’t rush through the tough parts to get to the victory.

When confronted with the reality of Jesus’ suffering, it’s easy for us to look past it.  Maybe it wasn’t as bad as it looked here, we tell ourselves.

But it was.  It was as tough as it seems here.  In fact, it would have been even worse than we could have imagined.  And that hurts.  That’s painful.  We don’t like to think about what Jesus went through for us, it’s too painful.

I think, for me, one of the reasons it can be difficult is when I see the lengths of faithfulness of our savior, I compare it to how easy I want everything to be.  I don’t want to struggle.  I don’t want these challenges.  I want it to all be calm waters.

But that’s not the way that life works.  The challenges, the tough times, that’s most when we see the power of Jesus.

Don’t rush through the tough parts of the Bible. And don’t rush through the tough parts of our lives.  In those valleys, in those trials, that most often when we see the power of God.

Tomorrow we’ll look at Mark 14:66-72.

What questions do you have?  How does this strike you?  Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

If you’d like to receive these thoughts by email, be sure to click here and join my email devotional group!

Day Fifty-Four with Mark: Mark 14:43-52

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This will be our last day in Mark for a while.  From January 3-13, I am going to be in the Holy Land, and I intend to put up some daily thoughts from my time there.  I also will attempt to upload pictures and videos here to my blog.  It will be about 8 hours ahead, so these won’t come in the morning.  But hopefully they will come!  Pray for us while we are there, and I look forward to sharing as much as possible with you from there!

Today we are looking at Mark 14:43-52:

43 Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. 44 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” 45 So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. 46 Then they laid hands on him and arrested him. 47 But one of those who stood near drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 48 Then Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? 49 Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled.” 50 All of them deserted him and fled.

51 A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, 52 but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.

q4305230Today, we see Jesus betrayed, and we see much what we talked about yesterday.  They came for Him with swords and clubs.  One of the disciples reacted with anger (John tells us it was Peter) but we see that Jesus doesn’t react that way.  He willing goes and says in fact, you know you didn’t have to come to me in this way.  I taught openly, you come in secret.

One of the spiritual points I always take away from this is we see that as humans how afraid, our worried, how angry everyone was when this was happening, can’t you always get a sense of calm from Jesus?  Don’t you almost get a sense of Him being in control in the midst of this?  I alway do.  He is the calm in the midst of this storm.  We see Peter attack.  We see others run.  We see Jesus full of peace.

Remember, He is peace, in the midst of the storm.  He is calm in the midst of the storm.  When the winds are blowing and the waves are rocking, He is our calm.

Trust Him.

One last thing, you know one of the reasons why I know the Bible is true?  If I was going to write something and make up these stories, you know what I’d do?  I’d make myself look GOOD.  I mean seriously, if I was going to invent all this, I’d be that man.

And look at everyone, except for Jesus.   They are imperfect.  They make mistakes. All their mistakes are cataloged, for all of us to see.  All their failures.  We see a young man get so scared, he ran away naked, which was even more embarrassing then, than it would be now.

Know who that man was?  Mark.  The author of this Gospel.  Believe me, I wouldn’t have included that.  But he did.  Why?  Because it shows that Jesus is the only perfect one, He is the only capable saving.

One of the many reasons why I believe the Bible is this, it is the story of God’s perfection and humanities imperfection.  It shows the love that a perfect God has for His imperfect creation.

What questions do you have?  How does this strike you?  Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

If you’d like to receive these thoughts by email, be sure to click here and join my email devotional group!

Day Fifty with Mark: Mark 13

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A few housekeeping notes.  I’ll be doing this studies through Wednesday this week, with a special Christmas Eve one on Thursday. And next week will look (mostly) normal, but then there won’t be one for a few weeks, I’ll be on a trip to Israel with a group, but while in Israel I’m going to share updates about what we’ve seen.  Just wanted to let you know where things are going the next few weeks.

The next few days we’ll be looking at Chapter 13.  Click here to read it.

Mark 13 121This is one of the apocalyptic parts of Mark’s Gospel. Some of what is happening in this passage is referring to the destruction fo the Temple in 70 AD while other parts of the text are talking about the second coming. Which parts are which? That’s a great question. . . .

That’s one of the things with apocalyptic works, is that it’s not always clear which is which. That’s why there is so much debate of what passages like this mean, because no one really is sure about timeline and when things will happen. Jesus actually makes this point today in this passage.

So today, I want to make a few observations from this text that may be helpful for our daily living. For me, that’s the tool I use the most with passages like this. Let’s look at the big picture, what can we see from a big perspective, what makes sense on a big level. Here are some big points to understand within this text.

First, we are told several times, don’t be afraid. You’ll see things that are happening that worry you; that scare you. Don’t be afraid. Over and over in scripture that is one of the primary messages of the Bible. Don’t be afraid. Even when things are bad or scary or worrisome. Don’t be afraid. God has this. God is at work. Good things are coming. No matter how dark and bleak it may look, don’t lose hope. God is at work. Things will get better.

The second thing is the reason number one is important. There will be troubles. In this passage Jesus says several times, it will be tough. It will. There will be troubles. The Christian life is not a life of protection from harm. The Christian life is not a life of protection from trouble. There will be trials and troubles and fears and worries. The Christian life is a something that magically keeps this way. In fact, sometimes quite the opposite. The more faithful you may be the more troubles you may face.

But remember point one. Don’t be afraid. God has this. God is at work. Don’t be afraid. God is with us. All will be well. Don’t be afraid.

The third observation is this – be alert. Jesus tells us to pay attention in life. I think this means not just to things concerning His return, but to all of life. Don’t sleepwalk through life. Look around. Pay attention. Where is God at work? Where is God moving? What is God doing? Where does God want you to plug into His works? Let’s pay attention today!

And last, in regards to His return, He says no one knows the hour or date. Only the Father. For me, this renders any group or organization that says – it’s going to happen on _______ invalid because Jesus plainly say, no one will know. Are we closer to His return? Yes, every day we live we are a day closer. And for us a believers, His return is a good thing, a place with no more death, fear, sin, sickness, none of the destructive things of this world.

So, going back to point one – do not be afraid!

We’ll look a little more in depth tomorrow at Chapter 13.

What questions do you have?  How does this strike you?  Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

If you’d like to receive these thoughts by email, be sure to click here and join my email devotional group!

Day Forty-Nine with Mark: Mark 12:35-44

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Today we are going to look at three different stories as found in Mark 12:35-44:

35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David? 36 David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared,

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet.”’
37 David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.

Jesus Denounces the Scribes
38 As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! 40 They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

The Widow’s Offering
41 He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. 43 Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. 44 For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

We see in these passages the conclusion of the stories in Mark 12 where different religious leaders come to Jesus, not for real answers, but to test Him and try to trip Him up.

So what we see in conclusion to Mark 12 is three different stories where Jesus puts many of these debates to rest.  What we see here in 35-37 Jesus proving to the religious leaders that He is superior to David and the traditions of the people.  In this passage, Jesus takes a Psalm and shows how in it David is giving a prophecy of Him.  So, even David knows that the Messiah is greater than he is and the Jewish traditions.

David is the icon of what it means to be a great king.  And here the great king is saying that the coming Messiah is greater than he.  So, if you regard David with authority (which the leaders did) you have to agree that the messiah is superior, and Jesus is the Messiah.  So, by their own standards, they should listen to and follow Him.  But they don’t.

Then in 38-40 Jesus warns people about following the religious leaders.  They really aren’t interesting in following God or leading others to God.  They are more interested in their own power and authority.

They aren’t worried about giving glory to God (even they claim to be) they are worried about their own glory and their own power.

james-c-christensen-the-widows-mite1This is seen to be true in the last story, 40-44, where the religious leader makes an offering and demands attention for the gift that he is given.  That is contrasted with the widow is give out of her poverty, but gives all that she is has.

The widow is not giving for attention or power of anything like that.  She’s giving out of devotion to God.

That’s what Jesus is trying to show us.  It’s about that love, that devotion, that desire to know and be faithful to God. That’s what the humble followers possess.  That’s what the powerful leaders lack.

Today may we desire and have the same type of humble following of Jesus Christ!

Next week we are going to spend a few days in Chapter 13.

What questions do you have?  How does this strike you?  Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

If you’d like to receive these thoughts by email, be sure to click here and join my email devotional group!

Can we really have Peace?

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I’ve been thinking a lot about peace recently.  We are in the midst of Advent, a season of hope, of peace, of love, of joy.  It’s in this season when we proclaim the words of Isaiah 9:6-7:

6 For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 His authority shall grow continually,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

peace11x14The Prince of Peace is born!  That’s what we say.  That’s what we believe.  Let me repeat that

That’s what we believe.  Seriously.  As Christians.  As the church, that’s what we believe. And in the world that we live in, that makes us look different.  Off.  Odd.

And you know what?  Good.  We are supposed to.  We aren’t supposed to be like the world.  We aren’t supposed to be like the culture.  We are supposed to be different.  As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:10 – we are fools for Christ.  We ARE supposed to look different.  Believe different.  Act different.  Have a different hope, joy, love, and peace.

As I tell folks, if you tell folks you are Christian, and they say, “really?”  That’s not a good sign.  We have to look/be different from the world.

Now, here’s the thing.  I’m not saying that there aren’t things to be afraid of.  I’m not saying that there aren’t things that can take our peace, take our joy, take our hope, take our love.

Of course, there are.  There are big, scary, worrisome things.  But hear me, please hear.

God is bigger.  He is stronger.  He is more might.  He is.

He is bigger than your fears.

He is.  And as Christians, we have to believe it.  We do.  It’s who we are.

And the world needs us to believe it.

Your peace will not come from an absence of conflict or absence of things that are you are afraid of.  Your peace will come from the trust and assurance of this truth:

No matter what you face, not matter what you are afraid of – God is bigger.

He is the prince of peace.  Yesterday.  Today.  Forever.  He is He is bigger.  He is our peace.

Trust.

Day Thirty-Five with Mark: Mark 9:14-29

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Today we take a look at Mark 9:14-29, where Jesus heals a young boy:

The Healing of a Boy with a Spirit
14 When they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. 15 When the whole crowd saw him, they were immediately overcome with awe, and they ran forward to greet him. 16 He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 17 Someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought you my son; he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak; 18 and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, but they could not do so.” 19 He answered them, “You faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me.” 20 And they brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus asked the father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 It has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.” 23 Jesus said to him, “If you are able!—All things can be done for the one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out, “I believe; help my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You spirit that keeps this boy from speaking and hearing, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again!” 26 After crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he was able to stand. 28 When he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 He said to them, “This kind can come out only through prayer.”

Today we see Jesus heal another child that is possessed by an evil spirit, something we see quite a lot of, especially in Mark.  There are a couple of words of reminder about evil or demonic spirits I want to give when we read texts like this. First, remember, scripture is clear, they are out there, they do exist. But, let us not become overly consumed or worried about them. That is not helpful.  CS Lewis said this in his book The Screwtape Letters:

There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.

exorcism_0So yes, there is evil out there, but no, it is not stronger than Jesus.

Two things that I think are of great interest in this text are the notion of faith and prayer.  Notice Jesus’ seeming frustration with the lack of faith displayed by everyone involved in this.  No one is able to heal the boy, it seems as though it is at an end.  The father says to Jesus, if you can heal, and Jesus says all things are possible for those that believe.

Then the father has one of my favorite statements in all of scripture.  Lord I believe, help my unbelief.  How often have we all felt like that?  How often have we said I know you can do it Lord, but help me believe.

Belief and faith are not an on/off switch.  When we flip it, doesn’t always stay there. We can believe, but still struggle with doubt and fear and worry. We can have great faith, but still have areas of our life that struggle to trust in.  We can be this father.  Lord I believe, but help my unbelief.

Today, may your faith be stronger than your doubts.  Hold fast to faith.  Hold on.  Jesus can do it. Believe.  Trust.  Hope.  Don’t doubt, only belief.  Give your doubts, your worries, your fears, give them to Jesus.  He can hold them, He can help them.

Trust.

And the second thing that stands out to me is the conversation the disciples have with Jesus following.  They want to know why they couldn’t heal the boy, and Jesus says some things can only be done with great prayer.  Prayer is always the first things that we should do as Christians.  Not the last.

Prayer must always be our frist resort, not our last.  Prayer must be the frist thing that we turn to, not the last.  We have to start all things, all things with prayer.  Jesus says the only way that you can bring forth healing in this situation is through prayer.

Do we pray first?  We have to.  We must.  It’s the only way that we’ll have the power to be faithful.

Prayer.

Tomorrow we’ll look at Mark 9:30-37.

What questions do you have?  How does this strike you?  Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

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Day Thirty-Five with Mark: Mark 9:9-13

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Today in Mark we look at Mark 9:9-13:

The Coming of Elijah
9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean. 11 Then they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 12 He said to them, “Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is it written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt? 13 But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written about him.”

urlToday in our reading, we see the disciples continue to struggle to understand what it is that Jesus is doing.  They don’t understand that it means about Him being raised from the dead. That’s not their idea of what a Messiah should do.  They don’t understand who Elijah was in reference to Jesus. They don’t understand what it is that God is doing. They don’t get what is happening.

You kind of hurt for them.  I mean, they wanted to understand.  They left everything to follow Jesus.  If’s always easy for us to make fun of the disciples for not getting it.  But think about the faith they had.  They didn’t get it. They didn’t understand.  But they still left everything and followed. Because while they didn’t understand everything that Jesus was doing or saying, you know what?  They knew that Jesus was life.

Wow, what a testimony of faith.  What a testimony of being faithful when they didn’t understand.

Faith is often the most strong when we don’t understand, but we still follow.

Today, even when we don’t understand, may we have that faith.

Tomorrow we’ll look at Mark 9:14-29.

What questions do you have?  How does this strike you?  Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

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